


Just to know somehow you are near

by TheLifeILive



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: Episode: s03e03 Murder and Mozzarella, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-05-06 21:41:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14656790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLifeILive/pseuds/TheLifeILive
Summary: Jack considers what it means to need to someone, and decides to share his thoughts with a certain someone, with delightful results. Loose tag to Murder and Mozzarella.





	Just to know somehow you are near

Jack stepped out of his car and brushed down his coat, before turning and heading east on the Esplanade. It was a beautiful night and he decided to slow down and enjoy the light breeze and the twilight. The points of the case that he wanted to discuss with Miss Fisher could wait while he allowed himself a few minutes’ respite in the midst of an otherwise busy day. 

Miss Fisher. The Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher. Jack smiled. He had spent such a long time fighting against himself in regard to her, that he still felt an instinctual need to reign in his thoughts. He cast his mind back over the year that he had spent actively trying not to think about her. This was obviously difficult considering the conscious and unconscious attack that she had mounted against his considerable defenses. 

After his divorce from Rosie, Jack had known that he was in a great deal of danger from Miss Phryne Fisher. She was everything his first wife was not and everything he had never known he wanted until she had waltzed into his life. And so, he fought and toiled and struggled against the pull he felt towards her. It wasn’t just her sultry smirks, her flirtations, and her dresses that positively begged him to give in and run his hands all over her. It was her heart, her capacity to bring out the best in people, her care and concern. It was the fact that she seemed to like him, him¸ Jack Robinson. They were friends. When did that happen? She was sensuality itself. Everything about their relationship pulsed with it, even while they both treaded carefully around the reality that there was so much tenderness and depth to their relationship. 

But he was done with not thinking about it, about her. He was done running away and looking for something safe. Last night he had turned down safety in favour of taking a running leap off a cliff, and he wasn’t about to look back. She had teased that he was making due with her, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. He’d been all in for longer than he’d care to admit. She was it for him and whatever happened, he’d regret it for the rest of his life if he didn’t let her know how much she meant to him. 

Far from afraid, he felt free. He felt like he was seeing the world anew. This was so different from the first time. When he had fallen in love with Rosie, he had been young and naïve, as so many young lovers are. He didn’t hold that against his younger self. But now, now he had seen the darkness, the devastation and despair of the world. He knew the depths to which human depravity could fall. He knew all of that, and yet, Phryne Fisher and the community that had developed around her gave him hope. And he was still amazed that he was allowed to be part of it. He had spent so much of these last ten years alone, without intimacy and friendship. In truth he was still getting used belonging somewhere, working hard not to run from it, from her. 

In his experience, needing people meant loss. When you allowed yourself to depend on other people, you would eventually find yourself abandoned. Phryne had read him correctly when she surmised the depth of his emotions. He had learned over the years to hide that intensity. It was too much for people. It was better channeled into his work than allowed into his relationships. He had met his match in Phryne Fisher though. He hadn’t seen it right away, but he came to realize that she saw it in him because that same intensity dwelt deep within her as well. She too had learnt to turn that intensity to a multitude of different areas: the thrill of fast cars, the fundraising, the causes, even sex. Like him, though, she did not allow it to be directed toward others. She clearly loved her family and friends, but neither of them had permitted themselves to experience the intense, romantic love of which they both were capable. 

Relying on someone else is scary. The idea of depending on someone nearly paralyzed him with fear. But this was Phryne Fisher, who would not take his feelings lightly, in spite of the flighty attitude that she put on for the world. If she didn’t want him, she would tell him. If he made his declarations and they were unwelcome, she would let him know. She would never toy with him. He would know where he stood with her, and it was time to give her the choice. 

He took a final, deep breath of the crisp, clean night air and rapped on the window pane by her door. 

The door opened to reveal Mr. Butler, who smiled at him and reached for his hat and coat. 

“Good evening, Inspector.” 

Jack nodded. “Good evening. Thank you, Mr. Butler.” 

He turned toward the parlour and felt his spirits lift as he observed Phryne sitting comfortably on her widow seat, a book open beside her and a tumbler of whisky dangling from her fingertips. 

“Jack!” She said with a soft smile. 

Would he ever get tired of hearing his name uttered by those lips, that voice? No. 

His smile answered hers and he felt like he could just stand there, looking at her for the better part of an hour…or five. Last night, when he had left her, he had felt at peace, and that same feeling rushed back as he found himself again in her presence. The fear and trepidation he had felt, melted away at her gentle greeting. 

“Miss Fisher. I brought you the report on Salvatore. There’s a couple points I want to discuss with you.” 

“Oh,” she said, her face falling a little bit before her smile reappeared. “Alright.” 

She reached out her hand for the folder, but he didn’t give it to her. He set it down on the table beside the chaise lounge and made his way over to sit beside her. She looked up at him, a hint of confusion on her otherwise serene countenance. 

“First, I have a confession to make, Miss Fisher.” 

“Yes?” 

He expected a sly remark, but her face was open and waiting. She was ready to listen, and he felt his heart swell all over again with love for this wonderful human being who was willing take him as he was. 

“The case is not my reason for coming here this evening.”

Her eyes sparked. “No?” 

“No,”

She titled her head and continued to look steadily at him. 

“Then why are you here, Jack?” 

He swallowed. What he wanted to say wasn’t earth-shattering, but to him, it was a huge step. 

“I’m here because I wanted to see you. I’m here because there was nowhere else I wanted to be tonight.”

Her face lit up. “I’m very glad you acted on that impulse Jack,” she said, leaning in closer to him. “You know you’re always welcome here – always wanted here.” He was surprised to see her checks tinge pink with those last words. 

Emboldened by her positive response, he decided to go all in. This hadn’t been his intention for this evening, but suddenly it seemed urgent that she know everything. 

“Miss Fisher…Phryne…it wasn’t just that I wanted to see you. I needed to see you.” 

Her breath caught. “Jack.” 

She had to stop saying his name in that breathy tone or he’d never get through this. 

“I don’t know if what I want to tell you will be welcome or not, but for all of my uncertainty, and of that there is plenty, I trust you to be honest with me. So please, hear me out and then I will hear whatever you have to say.” 

“Thank you, Jack, for trusting me. I’m happy to hear whatever you have to tell me.”

“Hold that thought, Miss Fisher.” 

“Jack…” She trailed off, seeing the intensity in his gaze and realizing just how serious this conversation was about to become. 

“Phryne, I have to tell you that…well…that I need you. I need you. I don’t mean to scare you and I don’t want you to feel trapped, but you have come to mean so much to me and I can’t imagine my life without you and your friendship and the way that you seem to understand me. I don’t know how this happened. I have always been so careful, but you’re just…you’re you and you’re lovely and caring and kind, and everything that anyone could ever want. And I need you.” 

Her eyes grew wide as he bared his soul to her. He could feel his heart racing, and he knew he was rambling, but he couldn’t stop. She had to understand. If this was going to be it for them then he needed her to know the truth. 

“I have spent so long being afraid of intimacy, and yet it still managed to find me. I don’t know if either of us intended for this to happen, but I don’t think I’m imagining this.”

“You’re not,” she assured him quietly. 

“Good. Even just your friendship, if that’s all I ever have from you, has been more than I ever dreamt of experiencing again. I’m a careful man, a man who does not express himself easily, but I need you to know Phryne, that I love you and I need you, and most of all, I am so incredibly grateful that you are who you are and that you came into my life.” 

At some point he had stopped looking at her, knowing that his heart was leaking from his eyes in a way that was likely to make her uncomfortable. At the sound a small sniffle, he finally looked up to see the indomitable Phryne Fisher wiping tears from her eyes. 

He gulped. “Phryne…”

Suddenly, she was in his arms, clinging tightly to him, her face buried in his shoulder. She was trembling, and he held her close, running his hands up and down her back. Neither of them was able to say anything, so they just stayed like that, in each other’s arms. Time passed and she finally pulled back to look him in the eye. 

“Oh Jack,” she whispered. “What am I going to do with you?” 

“Do with me, Miss Fisher?”

Despite his best efforts, she was still shaking. “I don’t know how to need people Jack, but if I ever needed anyone…it’s you. Like you, I don’t know how it happened, and I think I only realized it this week when I thought I was going to lose you.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but she stopped him with a finger pressed lightly to his mouth. 

“I mean, I think I knew a while ago that this was about more than just attraction, because you must know by now how much I want you.” 

He knew he was blushing at her comment by the gentle smirk on her face. 

“But yesterday, as I sat here contemplating what a mess I had made of things, I knew that I didn’t just want you. I need you too, Jack, and I’m so scared because I am not good at this, and I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t know how to be myself and need someone, Jack. What about the ways that we’re very different? What if…” 

He smiled wide at her and she crinkled her nose in response. 

“Why are you smiling? I just told you that I’m likely to hurt you.”

“But you also said you need me.”

She heaved an exasperated sigh. 

‘But Jack…”

“No Phryne. Just…let me ask you a question.”

She nodded, not letting go of him, staying close. 

“Do you want this? Do you want to be with me? However we decide we want that to look? I have told you before that I would never ask you to change for me, and I trust that you would want the same for me. Because, if you do want this, then we can figure it out. We can muddle through our fears and struggles. We can do it together…if that’s what you want. If you don’t, please just tell me. I can’t say I’ll be happy, but I don’t want you to be unhappy. But I have to say, Phryne…I need to say, that I think we could be wonderful together. Look at the way we work, the way we solve murders and help people. Look at what we do together already.” 

He knew he could go on and on, making his case for why she should give them a chance, but he knew he had to stop. He didn’t want to overwhelm her. 

“Jack,” she murmured, and she was back in his arms, holding him so tight he thought he might lose his breath. “I do, Jack. I do want this. I do know…I have known. I have never met a man like you Jack, a man whose passions and desires fit so well with my own.” 

“Really?”

“Really, Jack. And in spite of all your lovely, logical arguments for beginning a more intimate relationship, I have an even better reason.”

“Do you?” He asked, grinning at her and letting his hands run up and down her arms, which rested on his shoulders. 

“Yes. I love you, Jack Robinson.” 

Before today, the only time Jack had held Phryne Fisher in his arms had been when she was unconscious, and now he knew why he had spent so much energy avoiding it. The rush to his head and heart that took place as she again pressed herself into his embrace was overwhelming, and he knew he could never go back to keeping his distance. She was warm and soft and sweet, and nothing could be better than this. 

He rocked her back and forth with the happy energy that was racing through his system. 

He finally pulled back again to get a good look at her. 

“Phryne,” he said. He just wanted to say her name over and over again, but he couldn’t have even if he’d wanted to, because suddenly her lips were pressed gently to his and he lost all ability to think and speak as she kissed him slowly and thoroughly. His hands moved to her waist, holding her firmly but gently as he began to kiss her back. The kiss was heart-rending in its intensity and the beauty of the moment nearly undid him. But mixed with the intensity was a joy he never thought he’d experience again. 

They finally pulled back and looked deep into the other’s face, grinning like idiots. 

“You’re happy,” she said. 

He could only smile and reach for her again. As her head came to rest against his neck and her fingers stroked his back, he whispered against her hair: “Oh love, you have no idea.” 

He felt her breath on his neck. “I do, Jack. I really do.”


End file.
